MOTORSPORT: Verstappen dominates Japanese GP

Max Verstappen has claimed his 30th career GP win from pole position and his 57th overall in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka yesterday, as the three-time world champion bounced back from a non-finish at the Australian Grand Prix.

In an entertaining encounter that saw numerous on-track battles thanks to contrasting tyre strategies, the Dutchman was seldom headed in leading home the third Red Bull one-two of the year, with Sergio Perez claiming second.

“I think the critical bit was, of course, the start, to stay ahead, and after that, the car got better and better for me throughout the race,” said Verstappen.

“I don’t know if it had to do with the clouds coming in, but yeah, it was very nice.

“Everything just went really well; the pit stops went well, the strategy, I think, worked out well, so it couldn’t have been any better.”

Verstappen won the initial race start and led clearly before Daniel Ricciardo (RB) and Alex Albon (Williams) tangled spectacularly at turn three, damaging the tyre wall and forcing the red flag to be flown.

After a promising qualifying run, Ricciardo's non-finish was a bitter pill to swallow, as he now remains without points after four Grands Prix.

From the restart, Verstappen made another clear getaway from Perez and Lando Norris (McLaren), while the two Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly clashed on the run to the first corner but continued.

Ferrari showed strong pace early with drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, as Norris was the first to head into the pits on lap 12 of 53 to take on the harder compound tyre, shortly followed by Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin).

Verstappen proved to be a late stopper when he took on fresh Pirellis on lap 17, and four circuits later he moved back past Leclerc to reclaim the lead.

With overtakes commonplace throughout the order, Yuki Tsunoda’s RB crew did a masterful job of getting the local favourite back on track, as five mid-pack cars stopped simultaneously mid-race.

Verstappen pitted again on lap 35, handing the advantage to Sainz, before the Spaniard took on his final tyre set, gifting the top spot back to the Dutchman.

After crashing in practice, Logan Sargeant capped another tough day for Williams on lap 42 when he ran wide into the gravel trap through the second Degner corner before continuing.

Meanwhile, with a significant grip advantage, Sainz swept past his teammate Leclerc to claim third on lap 46, with the Monegasque driver running to a single-stop strategy.

At the end of the 49th circuit, Oscar Piastri (McLaren) resisted an attack from George Russell's Mercedes, with the Australian cutting the final chicane after contact between the duo. However, Russell finally made the pass stick on the last lap after the Australian ran wide.

Verstappen claimed his third consecutive victory at Suzuka – the first time the feat has been achieved since Michael Schumacher topped the podium from 2000 to ’02.

Perez logged his third second-place result for the season, some 12sec adrift of his teammate, with Sainz third from Leclerc, Norris, Alonso, Russell, Piastri, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Tsunoda, who scored points on home soil for the first time in his career.

Following an off-weekend, Formula 1 returns to China for the first time since 2019 on April 21, with the GP to feature a sprint race format.

2024 Japanese Grand Prix results:

2024 Formula 1 championship standings:

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